Bangalore: Bangalore South is being watched keenly. Billionaire Nandan Nilekani has not formally joined the Congress yet, but he is widely expected to be fielded by the party in this prestigious urban constituency in the general elections due by May.
Mr Nilekani is battle-ready and clear that the Congress is his party of choice. "I have offered myself. They have to decide. I think people are looking for a fresh, clean face - competent, capable - I hope to offer that," he told NDTV today.
There are those in the state Congress who have grumbled at the plan to field Mr Nilekani, but it now seems just a matter of time before he is given the ticket to contest from Bangalore South.
He emphasises that his local roots and his past achievements make him a good candidate. "I am coming on my track record. I am a clean, capable, local candidate. I was born here in Vani Vilas hospital. My father was working on Magadi Road. My house is in Koramangala and before that I was in Jayanagar and BTM Layout. I am a local candidate, clean and with a full track record," he said.
While he waits for the Congress' invitation to join the party, Mr Nilekani has already started meeting groups of people in Bangalore South. Celebrated as he is, it will not be a cakewalk for the IT czar if the Congress does field him here; the BJP's Ananth Kumar has won the seat six times.
There is also Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, which has said it will focus on Bangalore's urban voters.
Mr Nilekani had a magnificent innings as co-founder of IT giant Infosys, which brought him global recognition and ensured that he will not have to work for a living again if he does not want to.
But when Mr Nilekani quit Infosys in 2009, he did not quit working. He went to work instead on the challenging - and sometimes controversial - task of heading the Unique Identification Authority of India. The Congress-led central government chose him for that mammoth task.
"The Congress party has been good to me. I have been part of the Aadhar project for the last five years. I believe in Nehruvian ideology so I am very happy with my decision," he said.
Mr Nilekani is battle-ready and clear that the Congress is his party of choice. "I have offered myself. They have to decide. I think people are looking for a fresh, clean face - competent, capable - I hope to offer that," he told NDTV today.
There are those in the state Congress who have grumbled at the plan to field Mr Nilekani, but it now seems just a matter of time before he is given the ticket to contest from Bangalore South.
While he waits for the Congress' invitation to join the party, Mr Nilekani has already started meeting groups of people in Bangalore South. Celebrated as he is, it will not be a cakewalk for the IT czar if the Congress does field him here; the BJP's Ananth Kumar has won the seat six times.
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Mr Nilekani had a magnificent innings as co-founder of IT giant Infosys, which brought him global recognition and ensured that he will not have to work for a living again if he does not want to.
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"The Congress party has been good to me. I have been part of the Aadhar project for the last five years. I believe in Nehruvian ideology so I am very happy with my decision," he said.
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